Why People Don’t Trust Car Dealers

Buying a new vehicle sounds exciting, but in reality, it can turn into an all-day nightmare sitting at a car dealer. What started as a beautiful Saturday morning sipping orange juice and eating blueberry pancakes, morphed into a world of frustration sitting in front of a car salesman at 5pm wondering when you will eat dinner. And, you haven’t even made it through the finance department.

I picture an island where all new car salesman go to be trained. On this island, there are fire breathing dragons, miracle spring water, weight loss supplements, and the fountain of youth. Spread between two palm trees is a gigantic banner that reads “What Can We Do Today to Make This Deal?”. I hope I never have to visit this island.

The Bait and Switch is Alive and Well

The typical bait and switch that has been around since the beginning of car dealerships is when they tell you they have a car in stock that is not there. You show up excited to test drive the vehicle you saw online, only to be told it just sold.

But wait, they have another vehicle for you to look at. It's not exactly what you were looking for, and it may have a few extras that you don’t need, but we can make a deal, they say. This type of bait and switch is exhausting, especially when you know your time is being wasted.

Starting a business transaction off with a lie or deception is not a good place to be. But unfortunately, it’s common at most car dealerships and comes to be expected. “It’s part of the game” we tell ourselves. “It’s been this way for years”. But it doesn’t mean it’s the way it should be.

The other bait and switch that is commonly used is quoting someone a high price for their trade in, only to find out once you get there the numbers don’t match what you were quoted. This is about the time when excuses start pouring out of the salesmen, who are listing the many reasons why they can’t sell your trade in.

Most Car Dealers are the Same

All car dealers are full of car salesmen. And, whether you like it or not, what drives a salesman more than anything is money. Quick gains by a scrupulous salesman will only yield short-term results because there is no relationship. A good car salesmen that generates a relationship with a client will sell vehicles to their children and grandchildren.

Some car dealers actually have a few good people working for them that will treat you with respect as if they were selling a vehicle to their parents. Once you find this person, hold on tight. You will be hard-pressed to find another in your lifetime.

What Do Consumers Expect From a Car Dealer

Here is a short list of how most people would like to be treated when purchasing a new vehicle.

• Don’t waste my time
• Give me your best price in the beginning
• Stop with all the sales tactics
• Don’t hold our key's hostage with the sales manager
• Stop trying to sell us on payment, especially when it comes to extended warranties and service plans
• Stop acting like your smarter than we are

Yes, you may be slick or slimy, but you’re not smarter. Most people coming in to buy a vehicle have families, full-time jobs, and other obligations or worries taking up the space in their head. All they want is to be treated like a human.

Price Discrepancy From Sales to Finance Department

For some reason, there has been a very slight price discrepancy when going from the sales floor to the finance department with almost every vehicle I have purchased. When I say slight, it is usually under $200. It’s just enough to pad the ticket a bit, but not enough to change the fourth number, which would be real noticeable.

When I question this discrepancy, most finance managers blame it on how the computers in the sales and finance departments process the tax percentage a little differently. With a befuddled look on their face, the finance manager will question the discrepancy and typically call the salesman to verify the actual price. The final number will then be adjusted to the correct amount.

I did the math. There was a $182 price difference on the last vehicle we purchased. The final price on the vehicle was $182 higher in the finance department than what we agreed to with the salesman and sales manager. If a car dealer sells only ten vehicles a day, that is an additional $546,000 they make in one year going by the estimation of a dealer being open 300 days a year.

Half a million dollars added to the bottom line of a business because of a “tax percentage discrepancy” is interesting. The next time you purchase a vehicle, take a picture of the final number you and the salesman agree to. When the finance manager presents your final number, make sure they match exactly. Of course, this number is before adding in service packages and extended warranties.

Never Purchase a Vehicle Based on Payment

Car salesmen and finance managers are trained to sell you on monthly payment. With finance terms now extending out to six or seven years, the bump in your monthly payment will look like a non-issue. When purchasing a new vehicle, always negotiate the total price, never the payment.

If you negotiate your deal only looking at the payment, you never really know how much you’re paying for the vehicle. This is usually where the person in the finance department does most of the upselling for the dealership. Everything is presented as a slight increase in your overall payment, but no one ever takes the time to do the multiplication to find out how much a package really costs.

Don’t Be Forced to Buy Packages

Never purchase a vehicle with a “package” you don’t want. We recently purchased a new F-150 pickup truck, and it had a $2,500 package for paint and interior protectant, window tinting, nitrogen tire inflation, and window etching. This was something the dealer chose to have installed before ever asking the customer. Because I am a reasonable person, I told them I would give them $500 for this package.

At first, they told me several times there is no way to take $2,000 off. I listened and did the normal back and forth. The sales manager came out like normal and asked what we needed to make this deal happen. I explained I have already laid out my terms.

Keep in mind, I was paying sticker price for this truck because it was late 2021 and vehicles were in short supply. I was being reasonable. I paid sticker, asked for $2,000 to be removed off the $2,500 package, and I accepted their offer on the trade.

Furthermore, I was ready to walk away, so it didn’t matter either way to us. We were getting hungry and ready to head home for dinner. They accepted the offer and we bought a new truck.

Lifetime Warranties

Remember, lifetime warranties are great, but they are usually offered on parts that don’t break. Keep this in mind when shopping for a vehicle. Buy the vehicle you want because it’s reliable, sound, and it offers the features you enjoy. Not because of some warranty that promises the moon and the stars.

Fear is Used to Sell Vehicles

Every year, car manufacturers come out with the latest and greatest safety features and push them like crazy to sell new vehicles. These marketing tactics are targeted at mothers who have small children or grandchildren. Fear is one of the greatest sales motivators, and marketing companies know this.

Trading a Different Brand of Vehicle

If you take a Chevy vehicle and trade it in at a Ford dealer, don’t ever let the sales manager tell you they can’t give you as much for your trade as a Chevy dealer could. With the internet today, dealerships have access to all sorts of customers, and they can easily sell off brand used vehicles without any issues.

Buy a Vehicle When You Don’t Need One

The best time to buy a vehicle is when you don’t need a vehicle. If a car dealer is jerking you around, stand up and walk out the front door. The salesman sitting right in front of you is not offering you anything you can’t get from another dealer.

Buying a Car Online is More Expensive?

You hear all the time that buying a car online from Vroom or Carvana is more expensive. I have not purchased a vehicle from these services, but many people would gladly pay more not to have to deal with a car salesman. That is a sad statement, but the time spent and elevated stress levels from buying a vehicle from a dealer are enough to make people seek alternatives.

People will pay more for convenience in the United States. Just look at convenient stores on every corner, not to mention CVS and Walgreens. There are many people who do all their shopping at these stores so they don’t have to deal with larger grocery stores.

Car Pro Show VIP Experience Review

I used to be an avid listener to the Car Pro Show. It is a very entertaining show and the banter between Jerry Reynolds and his sidekick Kevin is great. With that being said, I have given their VIP Experience a try once with my father and another time through a different family member.

Our experience with the program was lackluster on both occasions. The first time, we got the complete run around from the Car Pro dealer in San Antonio and ended up leaving to purchase from another dealer. Our experience there was unfortunate, as the car salesman highjacked my father's keys when we were ready to leave.

The second time we used the program was in Round Rock, TX. The Car Pro contact was out sick and there was no one to speak with about the VIP Experience. Everyone we spoke to did not know what we were talking about when we referenced the program. Our experience overall was better than compared to the dealer in San Antonio, but no way was it a special experience.

On many occasions, Jerry has mentioned on the radio that you can work most of your deal over email with the Car Pro contact at the dealership. This will reduce how much time you spend at the dealer haggling and looking for vehicles. I tried to get our contact to send photos and links by email, but they kept asking that we come in. I wrote a letter to the Car Pro show about our experiences, but never heard back from anyone.

Conclusion

If you find a good car dealer, you will know it because it’s something you will feel it deep in your gut. Service will be at the forefront of the relationship, not let's make a deal around every corner. The salesman will hear you when you speak and only show you the vehicles you are interested in, not the ones they want to sell you.

If you find a great car salesman, let everyone know. Share it on social media, leave a review, or tell a friend or family member. They deserve to have their name spread around because they are a diamond in the rough. Being treated with respect and dignity at a car dealership should be the norm, not the exception.